DOCSLIB.ORG

The Driver and Read Families

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Driver and Read Families The Driver and Read Families First Generation 1. John Driver John married Hester Harris They had the following children: 2. M i. John Driver was born in 1772 and died on 28 February, 1810 Second Generation 2. John Driver (John) was born in 1772 in Dursley, Gloucester, England. He was christened on 25 July, 1773 in Berkley, Gloucester, England and died on 28 February, 1810 in Chapel Row, Sydney, Australia. He was buried on 2 March, 1810 in The Old Burying Ground, George Street, Sydney, Australia From "The Second Fleet - Britain's Grim Convict Armada of 1790" by Michael Flynn Driver, John (c1773-1810). John driver, a cord wainer aged 14, was committed to Gloucester Castle goal on 6 December 1787 charged with assaulting a man at Dursley and stealing a silver watch valued at two guineas (he had actually picked his pocket). He was convicted on a lesser charge of theft and sentenced to seven years transportation at the 15 January 1788 Gloucester Quarter Sessions and was sent on board the "Dunkirk" hulk at Plymouth on 24 June. At the end of November 1789 he was embarked on the "Neptune" transport. Although only seventeen on arrival, Driver displayed an early talent for business in the colony and prospered quickly as a retail trader after the expiry of his sentence in December 1794. In June 1797 he fathered a daughter by the First Fleet convict Elizabeth Needham (b. 1762, tried Old Bailey) baptised Mary at Sydney in July. Needham's parents had been servants in the household of Lady Charlotte Finch (who had been governess to the children of George III) and her son George (later the Earl of Winchelsea). Needham had two children by her first husband, the First Fleet convict William Snailham (who appears to have died). In 1796 she received a 40 acre land grant at Bulanaming in her own name. In March 1796 the couple were living next door but one to the Chapel (which was at the corner of Hunter and Bligh Streets). Elizabeth held the licence of the Wheatsheaf public house at Sydney in 1787-99 and was an able businesswoman in her own right. Around 1799 the couple went back to England and returned to the colony as free settlers with three children on the "Minorca" in 1801. From June 1803 Driver and his wife operated a warehouse and general store at No. 3 Chapel Row (later known as Castlereagh Street) Sydney, on an 81 rod lease allotment adjoining Thomas Taber's school. He also occupied premises on a site adjoining the new bridge in Sydney. This was probably the 66 rod allotment he leased jointly with Simeon Lord in July 1809 at the north end of the row on the west side of the spring (it may have been this, rather than the Chapel Row site, on which the Universal Warehouse was built). In August 1803 Driver advertised a great variety of goods for sale which illustrate how quickly the colony was developing from a penal encampment into a western consumption-oriented society. The goods for sale included green tea (unmixed and Souchong), sugar, butter, brazil tobacco, candles, soap, starch and blue, Capital Writing Fools-cap Paper, good coarse paper, stationery, copy and memorandum books, Juvenile Publications for the entertainment and improvement of Children, children's watches and toys, china tea sets, delft and manchester Tuesday, August 18, 2009 Page 1 of 32 cups, saucers and plates (plain and coloured), jugs, wash hand basins and tureens, fish plates and slides, soup plates, pepper mustard and salt islands, gridirons, flat smoothing irons, cutlery, scissors, men's and women's shoes, bonnets, perfumery, feathers, bands and flowers for bonnets, ribands, red flannel frocks, duck trousers, striped cotton shirts, Irish shirts (plain and frilled), leather breeches and boots, fine corded dimity, printed cotton and callico, checks, dungaree, flannel Laced Mode Cloaks (costing 3 to 5 guineas each), men's and women's stockings (black and white), gloves, cotton handkerchiefs, bandana and black Barcelone handkerchiefs, shoe strings, gloves, thread, tape, pins, needles (and other haberdashery), combs, gilt buttons, watch keys, seals, earrings, blacking cakes and tobacco pipes. Driver's advertisement in the Sydney Gazette of 16 October 1803 indicates a broadening of his clothing range with the additional items including glassware, English pint mugs in various sizes, looking glasses, common and fine hats, scarlet bird eyes and laces. The advertisement of 8 July 1804 included such additional items as raisins, Bengal printed cotton, Norwich and other fine shawls, gentlemen's and ladies' patent silk stockings, finger rings, beads, neck chains and other trinkets, punjums, nankeens, pens, India rubber, fancy waistcoats, artificial flowers and wreathes, Spanish shoes, tumblers and glasses. Driver held 40 acres by lease and purchase in 1806 which were not cultivated. Elizabeth held a publican's licence from 1803-1809 and was recorded with three male and two female children in 1806. Two of them Richard (1803) and Charles (c1805) were born at Sydney. The couple were strong supporters of the Rum Rebellion which resulted in Bligh's removal from power. John Driver was one of sixteen of the colony's principal inhabitants who signed a letter of support addressed to Major Johnston and written by John Macarthur on 26 January 1808, the day of the coup. Elizabeth subscribed £30 towards Macarthur's expenses for his anticipated trial in England. The Drivers are said to have displayed a sign in the hall of their house (probably their public house) on which a message painted in large characters read: "Success to Major George Johnson, may he live for ever! Our Deliverer and Suppressor of Tyrants". Driver received a 200 acre land grant at Cabramatta from the anti-Bligh regime. He died at his Chapel Row house on 28 February 1810 (aged about 36) having signed a will which appointed his wife sole executor and beneficiary. An obituary notice in the Sydney Gazette stated that he left a wife and five children "to regret the loss of a fond husband, and an indulgent parent, of whom it may also be asserted, that no man in existence had ever fewer enemies, or deserved them less". This widow married the Sydney dealer and publican Henry Marr on 29 October of the same year; she died on 3 January 1825 at the Star and Garter Inn at Portsmouth. She had only reached England three days earlier on her third return visit, and was buried in St. Thomas's Cathedral, Portsmouth, two days after her death. She rivalled Mary Reibey as the most prominent female emancipist of her day and was clearly a woman of considerable enterprise and ability. John Driver was probably the son of John Driver and Hester Harris born at Dursley and baptised at nearby Berkley on 25 July 1773; trial ref. Glos. RO Q/SO/10; Q/S/1a 1788; Driver had initially been charged with what was technically a capital offence of highway robbery, but the prosecution was undertaken on a less serious charge of theft, probably because of the boy's age and the fact that the theft was really a case of pick-pocketing. Driver's somewhat illegal will left his estate to Elizabeth, mentioning that they had been married ten (?) years on 29 May, suggesting a marriage in England in 1800; he was described as an innkeeper aged 38 at burial; in December 1808 Driver was granted a second lease in Chapel Row for an 81 rod allotment (whether this was the same land as the 1803 lease, or an adjoining or nearby allotment is not clear); some details contributed by J.R. Richards and G. O'Hagan, author of a booklet titled: "The Jewel Beyond the Sea: the Life and Times of Elizabeth Needham, 1762 to 1825 (Melbourne, 1991). John married Elizabeth Gore daughter of George Gore and Elizabeth Lake on 29 May, 1800 in Sydney, NSW, Australia. Elizabeth was born in 1761 and was christened in St George, Hanover Square, London, England. She died on 3 January, 1825 in Star & Garter, Portsmouth, England From "The Founders of Australia" by Mollie Gillen". Needham, Elizabeth (c1761-1825) Elizabeth Needham, said to be the wife of Henry Needham, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on 19 July 1786 to seven years transportation for theft of two pairs of silk stockings. The marriage of an Elizabeth Gore to Henry Needham at St. George's, Hanover Square, London is Tuesday, August 18, 2009 Page 2 of 32 recorded on 11 February 1782. In court she said she was servant to a perfumer in Bond Street, and challenged, said it was Grafter, which was also disproved. A petition for pardon was refused. "She told a long idle story about a ring given to [a colleague] by her father, who she said was a coachman to Lady Charlotte Finch, on account of which [the colleague] was to give her the stockings and a pair of buckles. Brought back to the shop on suspicion, the stockings fell from her. She behaved ill and made a disturbance" in the house. Aged 25, she was embarked on Lady Penrhyn on 9 January 1787. Bowes wrote that she was a needle worker, maker of childbed linen. The service of Elizabeth's father in the household of Lady Charlotte Finch was no help to her in avoiding sentence of transportation, but she would benefit greatly in later years. Lady Charlotte Finch, whose husband was the Rt. Hon. William Finch, vice chamberlain to the household of George III, was governess to the royal children from 1762 when the eldest son George (later George IV) was born, and to the later infant princes and princesses (she died in 1813, aged 88).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Life on Board
    Supported by the Sydney Mechanics’ School of the Arts Life on Board Australian Curriculum: Stage 5 – The Making of the Modern World – Depth Study 1 (Making a Better World) – Movement of Peoples (1750-1901) Australian Curriculum - Content ACOKFH015: The nature and extent of the movement of peoples in the period (slaves, convicts and settlers) ACDSEH083: The experience of slaves, convicts and free settlers upon departure, their journey abroad, and their reactions on arrival, including the Australian experience Australian Curriculum – Historical Skills ACHHS165: Use historical terms and concepts ACHHS170: Process and synthesise information from a range of sources for use as evidence in an historical argument NSW Syllabus: Stage 5 – The Making of the Modern World – Depth Study 1 (Making a Better World) – Topic 1b: Movement of Peoples (1750-1901) NSW Syllabus - Outcomes HT5-6: Uses relevant evidence from sources to support historical narratives, explanations and analyses of the modern world and Australia 1 Supported by the Sydney Mechanics’ School of the Arts HT5-9: Applies a range of relevant historical terms and concepts when communicating an understanding of the past Assumed Knowledge ACDSEH018: The influence of the Industrial Revolution on the movement of peoples throughout the world, including the transatlantic slave trade and convict transportation Key Inquiry Questions What was the experience of convicts during their journey to Australia? 2 Supported by the Sydney Mechanics’ School of the Arts Time: Activity overview: Resources 40 -45 mins Students are given the ‘Life on Board’ worksheet and Dictionary of Sydney articles: a copy of the article on the ship the Charlotte. As a class, teacher and students work through the article First Fleet picking out the information that indicates the nature of life on board a First Fleet ship.
    [Show full text]
  • Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
    ; 97 IHE FREiNCH IN VAN DIEMEN'S LAND, AND THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT THE DERWENT. BY JAMES B. WALKER. Prefatory Note. As the subject of the present Paper may appear to be scarcely within the scope of the objects of the Royal Society, it seems proper to state briefly the occasion of its being written and submitted to the consideration of the Fellows. Some two years ago, the Tasmanian Government—of which the Hon. James Wilson Agnew, Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society, was Premier—following the good example set by the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Now Zealand, directed search to be made iu the English State Record Office for papers relating to the settlement and early history of this Colony. The idea originated in a suggestion from Mr. James Bonwick, F.R.G.S., the well-known writer on the Tasmanian Aborigines, who had been employed for years on similar work for various Colonial Governments, and to him the task was entrusted by Dr. Agnew. Mr. Bonwick searched, not only the Record Office, but the papers of the Admiralty, the Foreign Office, the Privy Council, and the British Museuni, and discovered and co|)ied a large mass of docunu'nts rohiting to the oarly days of Tasmania. in the early jiart of this year, these coj)ics, extending over some (J4() foolscap pages, were received in Ilobart, and the ))resent Premier —the Hon. Philip Oakley Fysh—obligingly allowed me to jioruse them. I found them to be of great interest. They threw (piite a new light on the causes which led to the first occupation of this Islaiul ; gave a complete history of Bowen's first settlement at Risdon Cove and supplied materials for other hitherto unwritten — 98 FRENCH IN VAN DIEMEN's LAND.
    [Show full text]
  • The Turbulent Mason Products, Please Visit
    C&C Musters are small self-contained CREDITS additions to the Convicts & Cthulhu setting for Lovecraftian roleplaying in C&C Muster #1 is written by the early penal colonies of Australia. Geoff Gillan and Dean Engelhardt. The series looks at real-life historical Copyright © 2018. Published by characters from the convict era in Cthulhu Reborn Publishing . New South Wales and Van Diemen’s (WWW . CTHULHUREBORN . COM ) Land, through the lens of the Cthulhu Mythos. Each considers a The Convicts & Cthulhu setting historical personage in terms useful is published by Cthulhu Reborn in a Convicts & Cthulhu campaign, Publishing and is available via either as an NPC ally, enemy, or RPGNow and DrivethruRPG as a patron–or even as a player character “Pay-What-You-Want” title. investigator. Evocative and fleshed- out characters assist Gamemasters This PDF uses trademarks and/or copyrights by triggering possible story seeds, or owned by Chaosium Inc/Moon Design act as a focal point for connections Publications LLC, which are used under with other characters such as family 1 Chaosium Inc’s Fan Material Policy. We are or business associates. expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. This PDF is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Chaosium Inc. For more information about Chaosium Inc’s The Turbulent Mason products, please visit www.chaosium.com. Anthony Fenn Kemp (1773—1868): The Turbulent Mason “...without fear of contradiction from anyone with “We are gratified in being able to announce that whom Mr Kemp has come into contact, that his the Father of the people, the Washington of Van conceit and credulity, envy and malice, turbulence Diemen's Land, has recovered from his recent severe and arrogance, have been at all times equal, to which indisposition and that, in his mental energies, he is may now be added an utter disregard for the truth.” as strong as ever.” — The Hobart newspaper Brittania, on Kemp's — Lt Governor George Sorrell (later Kemp's recent illness, July 6, 1848.
    [Show full text]
  • Reputations on the Line in Van Diemen's Land
    REPUTATIONS ON THE LINE IN VAN DIEMEN’S LAND: a dissertation on the general theme of the Rule of Law as it emerged in a young penal colony with particular emphasis on the law of defamation by ROSEMARY CONCHITA LUCADOU-WELLS LLB., (Queensland), B.Ed., (Tasmania), MA., (Murdoch), PhD., (Deakin) This thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Laws of Murdoch University, 2012. I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. Rosemary Conchita Lucadou-Wells ABSTRACT This research focuses on the development of the jurisprudence of the infant colony of Van Diemen’s Land now known as Tasmania, with particular interest on the law of defamation. During the first thirty years of this British penal colony its population was subject to changes. There were the soldiery, who provided the basis of government headed by a Lieutenant Governor, the indigenous people, the convicts, and gradually an influx of settlers who came enthused by governmental promises of grants of land. In addition to these free settlers there were a selection of convicts who, under a process of something akin to manumission under Roman Law, became upon completion of their sentence, eligible for freedom and possibly a grant of land. There developed a spirit of competition amongst the settlers, each wanted to become more successful than the others. The favourite means of distinguishing oneself was the uttering or publication of damaging words against a person who was perceived to be a rival.
    [Show full text]
  • L3-First-Fleet.Pdf
    Symbols I do: my turn to talk. This is the explanation section of our lesson where you are required to listen. We do: this is where we discuss or work on the concepts together. You do: your turn to be involved. You may be working in a group or on an activity individually. Life in Britain During the 1700s In the 1700s, Britain was the wealthiest country in the world. Rich people could provide their children with food, nice clothes, a warm house and an education. While some people were rich, others were poor. Poor people had no money and no food. They had to work as servants for the rich. Poor children did not attend school. When machines were invented, many people lost their jobs because workers were no longer needed. Health conditions during the 1700s were very poor. There was no clean water due to the pollution from factories. Manure from horses attracted flies, which spread diseases. A lack of medical care meant many people died from these diseases. Life in Britain During the 1700s • The overcrowded city streets were not a nice place to be during the 1700s. High levels of poverty resulted in a lot of crime. • Harsh punishments were put in place to try to stop the crime. People were convicted for crimes as small as stealing bread. Soon, the prisons became overcrowded with convicts. • One of the most common punishments was transportation to another country. Until 1782, Britain sent their convicts to America. After the War of Independence in 1783, America refused to take Britain’s convicts.
    [Show full text]
  • The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay
    The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, compiled from Authentic Papers, which have been obtained from the several Departments to which are added the Journals of Lieuts. Shortland, Watts, Ball and Capt. Marshall with an Account of their New Discoveries Arthur Phillip A digital text sponsored by University of Sydney Library Sydney 2003 http://purl.library.usyd.edu.au/setis/id/phivoya © University of Sydney Library. The texts and images are not to be used for commercial purposes without permission Prepared from the print edition published by John Stockdale London 1789 298pp. All quotation marks are retained as data. First Published: 1789 910.4/418 Australian Etext Collections at early settlement prose nonfiction pre-1810 The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, compiled from Authentic Papers, which have been obtained from the several Departments to which are added the Journals of Lieuts. Shortland, Watts, Ball and Capt. Marshall with an Account of their New Discoveries London John Stockdale 1789 TO THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, LORD CHAMBERLAIN OF HIS MAJESTY’s HOUSHOLD, &c. &c. THIS VOLUME, CONTAINING ALL THAT IS YET KNOWN OF THE SETTLEMENT AT SYDNEY-COVE, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS LORDSHIP’s MUCH OBLIGED, AND MOST FAITHFUL HUMBLE SERVANT, NOVEMBER 25, 1789. JOHN STOCKDALE. Anecdotes of Governor Phillip ARTHUR PHILLIP is one of those officers, who, like Drake, Dampier, and Cook, has raised himself by his merit and his services, to distinction and command.
    [Show full text]
  • 2007Founders38i4.Pdf
    Ul ;.. i:,., .... i:,., .... i:,., 0 - ~~ ~- Q) .tl~ I:; rn en -i.. "a... z - ~ "0 0 ..... Q) 0 0 .s Q ....:$:+. u«I ()a ~:e-o v; := i ~ .. ~ ~ II ~ The enthusiasm in the Chapters is almost overwhelming. The reformation of the Inside this issue: Hunter Valley Chapter has sparked new interest in Newcastle. Monday 18 June saw the first meeting elect a committee of four. With four others in attendance. Chapter liaison Officer Jean Mortimer accompanied by her husband Terry left the South Coast News of Members 2 at 4am to be present at this meeting. Her dedication is an encouragement to us all. I spoke to three primary school classes at Budgewoi, on the Central Coast, and Nine Generations donated them each a chart of the First Fleet. Also spoke to the Hornsby View Club. Later 3 Peter Christian spoke to Hurstville Probus Club. The Daytime Fellowship meeting in July was well attended, a talk by Director John Arthur Phillip 4-5 Boyd on his recent trip to Japan and Canada, was warm and invigorating to the accompaniment of 'soup and damper'. Back in History 6 Your Board of Directors has met on two occasions at 'workshops' to plan for the future. We ho_pe that our discussions will bring about a new interest in the Fellowship From the Chapters 7 and its activities. Some charts which have been out of print for some time are being considered for Letter to the printing and will be available for sale soon. We will advise of availability and cost as Editor 8 soon as stock is in hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Zachariah Clark ~ 'Of Whom The
    1788 AD Magazine of the Fellowship of First Fleeters ACN 003 223 425 PATRON: Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO To live on in the hearts and minds Volume 51 Issue 5 52nd Year of Publication October-November 2020 of descendants is never to die ZACHARIAH CLARK ~ ‘OF WHOM THE LESS SAID THE BETTER’ Zachariah Clark was a First Fleeter. He was not a con- such records exist. In the case of Zachariah we can esti- vict, nor a marine, nor a sailor. He was the agent of the mate that his birth occurred in about 1743, because in Fleet contractor, whose job was to see that the convicts 1803 he described himself as “an old man … aged 60 were well provisioned. He stayed on in New South Wales years”. His sisters were probably born during the follow- as Assistant Commissary, and was then transferred to ing decade. Norfolk Island as Deputy Commissary. A dissenter, a Zachariah’s father, also called Zachariah, was an im- member of a London livery company, a family man, he portant member of this community. There is some touch- did his job well. ing evidence of this in the 1746 will of Abigail Stockwell: And yet, while on Norfolk Island, a charge was laid To Zach Clark five pound … Pleas to let Mr Clark against him for a crime that he did not commit. He was bury me … i diser Mr Gill to spak from them words in banished to a remote part of the island where he died. Job wich I hav ofen spak of … to the poor of Mr Gill Later writers, when they mentioned him – if they men- five pound belong to the meeting house in tioned him at all– did so in terms like these: horselidon … Zachariah Clark, of whom the less said the better.
    [Show full text]
  • Admiral Arthur Phillip.Pdf
    Admiral Arthur Phillip, R.N. (1738 – 1814) A brief story by Angus Ross for the Bread Street Ward Club, 2019 One of the famous people born in Bread Street was Admiral Arthur Phillip, R.N, the Founder of Australia and first Governor of New South Wales (1788-1792). His is a fascinating story that only recently has become a major subject of research, especially around his naval exploits, but also his impact in the New Forest where he lived mid-career and also around Bath, where he finally settled and died. I have studied records from the time Phillip sailed to Australia, a work published at the end of the 19c and finally from more recent research. Some events are reported differently by different observes or researchers so I have taken the most likely record for this story. Arthur Phillip in later life His Statue in Watling Street, City of London I have tried to balance the amount of detail without ending up with too long a story. It is important to understand the pre-First Fleet Phillip to best understand how he was chosen and was so well qualified and experienced to undertake the journey and to establish the colony. So, from a range of accounts written in various times, this story aims to identify the important elements of Phillip’s development ending in his success in taking out that First Fleet, made up primarily of convicts and marines, to start the first settlement. I have concluded this story with something about the period after he returned from Australia and what recognition of his life and achievements are available to see today.
    [Show full text]
  • The Master of Convicts Products, Please Visit
    C&C Musters are small self-contained CREDITS additions to the Convicts & Cthulhu setting for Lovecraftian roleplaying in C&C Muster #2 is written by the early penal colonies of Australia. Geoff Gillan and Dean Engelhardt. The series looks at real-life historical Copyright © 2019. Published by characters from the convict era in Cthulhu Reborn Publishing . New South Wales and Van Diemen’s (WWW . CTHULHUREBORN . COM ) Land, through the lens of the Cthulhu Mythos. Each considers a The Convicts & Cthulhu setting historical personage in terms useful is published by Cthulhu Reborn in a Convicts & Cthulhu campaign, Publishing and is available via either as an NPC ally, enemy, or RPGNow and DrivethruRPG as a patron–or even as a player character “Pay-What-You-Want” title. investigator. Evocative and fleshed- out characters assist Gamemasters This PDF uses trademarks and/or copyrights by triggering possible story seeds, or owned by Chaosium Inc/Moon Design act as a focal point for connections Publications LLC, which are used under with other characters such as family 2 Chaosium Inc’s Fan Material Policy. We are or business associates. expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. This PDF is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Chaosium Inc. For more information about Chaosium Inc’s The Master of Convicts products, please visit www.chaosium.com. Nicholas Divine (1739—1830): The Master of Convicts “Here are only convicts to attend convicts, and who in general fear to exert any authority, and very little labour is drawn from them in a country which requires the greatest exertions.” Introduction — Governor Phillip, 16 May 1788.
    [Show full text]
  • Admiral Arthur Phillip Rn
    Westminster Abbey A SERVICE TO DEDICATE A MEMORIAL TO ADMIRAL ARTHUR PHILLIP RN Wednesday 9th July 2014 11.00 am ADMIRAL ARTHUR PHILLIP RN Widely admired in Australia as Commander of the First Fleet and first Governor, Admiral Arthur Phillip RN (1738–1814) founded New South Wales in 1788, introduced the rule of law, and established the new colony in the face of horrendous obstacles. Phillip, a Royal Navy Captain in 1788, attained the rank of Admiral for his naval service, but was otherwise unrecognised. Phillip’s leadership of the First Fleet was inspired: all on board were humanely treated and kept healthy, and his navigation was superb. His establishing the colony was an extraordinary achievement. As a farmer himself, he recognised the enormous potential of this new country and encouraged others to believe in it. Phillip was the architect of modern Australia. Arthur Phillip was born in the City of London and is commemorated at an annual service in the church of St Mary-le-Bow, in which there is a small commemorative bust. In Watling Street close by, there is a small, mostly unremarked, memorial to him. In Bath are plaques affixed to his house, and in Bath Abbey and St Nicholas Church, Bathampton, his final resting place, he is commemorated by an Australia chapel, stained glass windows, and a small tablet erected by his widow. His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Patron of the Britain-Australia Society, stated, ‘As the Captain commanding the First Fleet and then as the first Governor of New South Wales at a crucial period in the development of Australia, his selfless service fully deserves the memorial stone which the Britain-Australia Society Education Trust will lay in Westminster Abbey, and the memorial which it is intending to establish in July in his home city of Bath.’ We should properly honour this modest, self-made yet world-class seaman, linguist, patriot, espionage agent against the French, sometime commodore in the Portuguese Navy, and above all humanitarian and effective first Governor of New South Wales.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Reviews and Notes
    118 BOOK REVIEWS Michael Pembroke, Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy, Melbourne, Hardie Grant Books, August 2013, 354 p., ISBN: 978-1- 74270-508-8. E-book available. This year marks the bicentenary of the death of Arthur Phillip, the first British Governor of New South Wales. To commemorate the event, new memorials have been unveiled in London and Bath. On 24 June the Guardian newspaper honoured Phillip with an editorial, declaring that he was ‘one of those men who make you understand how and why the British Empire came into being’. Phillip was born on 11 October 1738 in the parish of All Hallows, London. His father Jacob Phillip was a language teacher originally from Frankfurt. But which Frankfurt? Michael Pembroke suggests that Phillip’s father might have been John Jacob Pfeiffer recorded on a 1709 list of Protestant refugees from the Rhineland Palatinate. But there is no proof that Pfeiffer changed his name to Phillip and that he was the language teacher who married Elizabeth Breach and begat Arthur. Indeed Justice Pembroke admits that ‘this is too slender a reed’. Regrettably, he makes no mention of Lyn Fergusson’s hypothesis (in the 2010 revised edition of her Phillip biography), that Jacob might have been a descendant of either the Jewish ‘Philip’ family or, more likely, one of the Huguenot ‘Philipe/Philippe’ families living in Frankfurt an der Oder (rather than Frankfurt am Main) in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Jacob Phillip disappears from the historical record the year after Arthur’s birth. Given the future governor’s admission to the Charity School of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, restricted to ‘the Sons of disabled Seaman, or whose Fathers were slain, killed or drown’d in the Sea Service’, Pembroke infers Jacob’s ‘death or disablement in the Sea Service’.
    [Show full text]